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All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission.

Several Western governments, including Britain and France, have announced they intend to recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations later this month.

Britain has said it will take the step if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in the devastating Gaza war.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to around three million Palestinians, as well as about 500,000 Israeli settlers.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has said that there must be a “collective response” to Israel’s attack on the Qatari capital Doha, as Arab leaders rushed to the Gulf nation to express solidarity. At least 6 people were killed in the attack.

“There is a response that will happen from the region. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region,” he told US media outlet CNN Wednesday evening, adding that “the entire Gulf region is at risk”.

“We are hoping for something meaningful that deters Israel from continuing this bullying,” Sheikh Mohammed added, accusing Netanyahu of leading the region into “chaos”.

“I think that what Netanyahu did yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages,” he said, calling for Netanyahu to be “brought to justice”.

In three days, Israel has carried out strikes in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and Yemen.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed 43 people across the Palestinian territory yesterday, according to medics and local health authorities, including 11 in strikes on various parts of Gaza City, five in a strike on a single location in the Beach refugee camp, and two who were searching for food near Rafah in the south.

Lebanon’s health ministry yesterday reported that an Israeli drone attack in the southern Tyre district hit a motorcycle, killing one person.

Humanitarian and human rights organisations have expressed alarm over Israel’s forced expulsion order demanding one million people leave Gaza City, despite unsafe overcrowding further south.

With more and more children in besieged Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition, health workers said there is not enough medicine to nurse them or ease their pain.

The UN’s health agency said Wednesday its workers will remain in Gaza City despite calls from Israel’s military for people to flee an assault it is mounting there, reports AFP.